It's add one, lose one and a big question mark for the Opie & Anthony Show today. WROX/Norfolk becomes the latest affiliate for O&A, picking up the show to run in middays from 10am-2pm. The 3-hour regular radio slot originating from CBS Radio's WXRK/New York will run on delay and be extended to four hours so WROX can still play music in middays. In the loss column, O&A find themselves off the air at Citadel's WEDG/Buffalo. Meanwhile, the show finds themselves in a precarious position with XM Satellite Radio as their contract is due to run out in 65 days and there has been no contact about their deal being renewed. Presumably, the hold-up in XM renewing the program has been due to the pending merger, so that could change now that the FCC has voted to approve the XM-Sirius alliance. Even so, there is no word whether the approved merger will benefit the show. Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin has repeatedly said he doesn't believe in sharing content with regular radio. Also, there is no timetable yet for the two companies to begin operating as one merged entity, so O&A fans will wait and watch as this one goes down to the wire.
Bill Pugh is named OM for Clear Channel’s San Diego station cluster. Pugh will oversee KHTS (CHR), KMYI (Hot AC), KIOZ (Active Rock), KTMQ and KGB(Classic Rock), KUSS (Country), XOCL (Regional Mexican), KOGO-AM (Talk) and KLSD-AM (Sports).
MD Vinnie Ferguson will become a lot less bitter and exit Modern Rock WXDX/Pittsburgh as of this Friday, August 1. He will still hold on to his voicetracking duties at WXEG/Dayton.
KFMA/Tucson MD/afternoon host Greg Rampage will head to Sin City to join KXTE (X-107.5 Extreme Radio)/Las Vegas for afternoon drive, starting August 11. Rampage replaces the "Xtreme Disorder" team of Dave Farra, Brian Black and Lemmy The Gopher at the Modern Rocker.
With Rampage exiting KFMA, night guy/Imaging Director Chris "The Ego" Firmage takes his place as MD/afternoon drive host. KFMA is now looking for a new night jock.
Triple A KSWD/Los Angeles brings in former Sirius and WXRK/New York personality Julie Slater, effective August 11.
Kevin
Murphy exits the morning co-host gig at AC KXLT/Boise, leaving co-host Claire Day to go it alone.
The NAB Radio Show will include a session focusing on the challenges and opportunities faced by today's program director. Titled The Big Picture: Group PDs Share Their View, the session will feature a panel discussion moderated by Buzz Knight, VP of Program Development for Greater Media, Inc., and will include panelists Greg Strassell, CBS Radio SVP/Programming; Entercom Communications Corporation SVP/Programming Pat Paxton and Border Media Partners’ VP/Spanish Programming and President of Santos Latin Media, Jose Santos. More information about The NAB Radio Show is available at www.nabradioshow.com.
Mark Flaherty is named SVP, Marketing, for the RCA Music Group. He most recently held the position of VP, Marketing for the label group.
Classic Rock WCHR/Manahawkin taps Gregg Pirillo for APD, 9 a.m.-noon host and morning show producer duties.
Clear Channel-New York names Dennis Campagna its new NYC Market Controller. In this position, Campagna will oversee accounting and financial reporting for five tri-state area stations. Campagna comes to Clear Channel New York as a CPA with over twenty-five years of financial experience.
Dial Global promotes Chris Corcoran to SVP of Programming. He will be GM of show prep, as well as overseeing affiliate sales for prep and programming for Dial Global.
Local musicians around the New York area have a new weekly outlet to showcase their music, as 92.3 K-Rock launched a new weekly program, B Local on Sunday, July 27. The program, which airs on Sunday nights (9-10:00 p.m.) features music from the rock genre and all its sub-genres by artists from the tri-state area. The show’s title is a nod to the mass transit system that connects the boroughs and the surrounding area, and its slogan is: “Hear local, See local, B Local.” B Local is hosted and produced by Mike Dubin, a fifteen-year veteran of the New York music scene. The first broadcast featured music from prominent New Yorkers, such as Santogold, the Hold Steady, and Albert Hammond, Jr.; as well as buzz-worthy up-and-comers the Gay Blades, I Hate Our Freedom, and White Rabbits. The show can also be heard online at www.923krock.com.
